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'Project Runway': Lights, camera, sew!

Sometimes you catch an episode of "Project Runway" that you know will
be nearly as entertaining to watch in reruns just because the challenge
is so fun: tonight's was one of those.

In the spirit of being in
L.A., the designers each picked a genre of film and had to make a
costume for a character in one of those movies. Rodney Epperson and Irina Shabayeva were
both disappointed to get to choose last, each getting "western"
although Epperson seemed to be on the right track when he described his
character, a tough woman taking care of the homestead while her
husband's away. Sometimes hearing the designers talk about their
designs before we see them can be a bit of a snooze but even at home
you could catch on to the childlike fun of coming up with clothes for a
sexy assassin or swordfighter or space queen all the while working with
Collier Strong (who could play a superhero version of Mr. Clean) on
cool hair and makeup. Tim Gunn also was way into it: he was "seduced"
by the ruffles on Epperson's gown and "enthralled and inspired" by
everyone else's work.

I agreed with the judges' picks for high and low designs (but will
Logan Neel ever appear before the judges?) Christopher Straub created a beautiful
vampire-esque period piece with a full gathered skirt and high-necked
blouse. Nicolas Putvinski's gown looked like an evil snow queen's and the judges
loved it although frankly I've been finding Nicolas grating lately,
especially since he dropped the "I'm not here to make friends" line in
tonight's episode -- the biggest reality TV cliche of them all. It was
no surprise that Ra'mon Coleman's was something of a neon shredded mess, as he
abandoned his original design halfway through. I loved Epperson's
country frock with the ruffled denim and big leather belt. I kind of
wanted to try it on. Louise Black was taken to task for her noir dress not
looking costumish (let alone noirish) enough and although the judges liked
Gordana Gelhausen's craftwork on her flapper dress, they questioned where her
point of view went.

I really wanted Epperson to win, especially in light of his strong
showing last week, or Christopher, but instead Nicolas won for his
white snowy sci-fi gown (I also didn't care for his hair/makeup
either). Ra'mon and Louise were on the chopping block; Ra'mon for bad
execution and Louise's "snoozefest" (Heidi is really on a tear). The
judges sent Ra'mon home, which I think is a shame since I think he's
brought more to the competition than Louise has so far.